How to Say It to Seniors: Closing the Communication Gap with Our Elders (Paperback)

by David Solie (Author) "THIS book explores the reasons why communicating with the elderly is sometimes so frustrating and offers strategies and skills for overcoming these difficulties..." (more)
Key Phrases: nonlinear conversations, organic legacy, developmental drivers, Predictable Encounter, Uncle Albert, Aunt Ruth (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
A practical guide to bridging the generation gap.

In How to Say It(r) to Seniors, geriatric psychology expert David Solie offers help in removing the typical communication blocks many experience with the elderly. By sharing his insights into the later stages of life, Solie helps in understanding the unique perspective of seniors, and provides the tools to relate to them.

About the Author
David Solie, MS., PA., is an expert in geriatric psychology, and the CEO and Medical Director of Second Opinion, a life insurance brokerage corporation.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall Press (September 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735203806
• ISBN-13: 978-0735203808
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #35,210 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #17 in	Books > Parenting & Families > Aging Parents > Aging
  #29 in	Books > Parenting & Families > Family Relationships > Parent & Adult Child

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Humane, wise, practical...SUPERB, March 16, 2006

By	Erica Bell (Washington State) - See all my reviews

It's shocking that this book is being marketed merely to professionals who must deal with the vagaries of the senior personality. It's simply the best book on the subject I've read. The author has a huge heart for seniors and those who work with them--professionals, certainly, but also neighbors, friends, children, grandchildren.

If you're looking for a book on how to manhandle or finesse the elderly into doing what you want (even for their own good), then this isn't for you. Solie explains the new goals seniors face as they contemplate their lives--often alone, as peers and spouses die--and the twin conflicting motivations they must wrangle with--the need for control, and the need to let go. Walking us through their worlds--a world that, if we're honest, we can't but guess at--Solie gently prods us to reevaluate WHY we are communicating so poorly, and how we can improve. In the end, it is we who must change, especially our instinct to bully the senior into a more comfortable situation (usually for US, and as always, "for their own good").

Respect, love, sympathy, and cheer shine out of his writing and text. I read it in one sitting, and found myself in tears. Why didn't I have this book when my mother was still alive?

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read for Advisors and Personal relationships., August 31, 2004

By	Rod Hagenbuch (Pacific Palisades, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have read over thirty book offering advice to professionals in the Securities and Planning industry in the last couple of years. This book is by far the most important book I have read. It provides critical advice on how to deal with some of advisors most important clients. Using Solie's advice can help advisors impact peoples lives far beyond their money. Communication with older people has been some of the most difficult conversations I have had professionally and within my own family. I only wish I had read this book when my Mother was still alive.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All baby boomers need to read this book, October 28, 2004

By	Robert W. Griffith "Editor, HealthandAge.com" (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

David Solie has written a remarkable book - "How to Say It to Seniors: Closing the Communications Gap with our Elders." It's aimed squarely at baby boomers who are attempting to handle the difficulties, frustrations, and guilt they feel as they try to achieve effective communication with their elders. Such attempts often fail because of the different agendas held by the middle-aged and the elderly. Mr Solie has unearthed two principal motives in elderly people's verbal and non-verbal behavior - to maintain control over their lives, and to discover their legacy, or how they will be remembered.

The book's approach is logical. Theory is presented, examples of miscommunication are provided, and solutions (or, at the very least, reasonable alternative approaches) are offered. Mr Solie suggests that the reader looks first at the sections that most directly apply to a particular situation, and then returns to the theoretical underpinnings for adapting their behavior. Everyone - whatever age - can relate to the examples chosen, and I submit that everyone can learn from the solutions offered. The writing is clear, simple, and pithy. I particularly liked the apt quotations used in the chapter headings. As a 73-year-old, I cannot recommend this book too highly.